Air sirap

I love air sirap. Sirap limau, plain sirap. Well rose syrup le... Sirap bandung not really though. Kadang-kadang macam nak rasa tapi bila dah minum rasa mual lak. I think a nice sirap bandung that doesn't make me feel like regurgitating it is sirap bandung with a hint of ice-cream soda in it. Maybe...

Anyway, when I worked in Ampang, Janet the Accounts Clerk, once remarked that Malays like to drink sirap. I said really ? And for me at least, it is quite true ( can't speak for the rest of the Malay population ). However my dream sirap had always been sirap org kawin... Emmm..... I don't know why tapi siraps at kenduri kawin are the best. My own kenduri kawin's sirap was quite good actually and I had always look forward to testing the afore-mentioned beverage when there are weddings to attend.

I don't like homemade ones that letak jintan ( for whatever reason it is required I don't know ) and I have forgotten the taste of F&N Rose syrup because it is in my boycott list.

Sirap... hmmmm..... DeliFrance have added new drinks in their menu. They have green apple, passion fruit and grapefruit ( I think ) syrop diluted with soda water, served in a very nice big martini-like glasses. They tasted marvellous and gave me an idea of drinking my own very malay sirap with soda water... Tapi since I am not a big fan of carbonated water... well we'll see..

Hmm...

The perils of bowling

What is the hazard of bowling ? So far, I haven’t had any except once in Nottingham, this bowling alley ( I have forgotten the name of the alley ) had a promotion of Buy 5 for 1 quid each. Meaning that we have to bowl 5 games and each game costs 1 quid as oppose to like 3 Pounds per game. Wee haa…. ! What a bargain ! So we did, hubby, Ashraf, Tasren, Zul and I. After the 3rd game, our weary hands threatened to dislodged itself from our bodies. So that was one occupational ( or recreational ) hazard of bowling that I experienced.

I seriously haven’t heard of others ( if there are any, please tell me ) until last Saturday. I think my husband had a ( or 2 ) slipped disc through bowling. He can’t move and had to be still most of the time. Sudden movements hurt and simple actions too can cause so much ache. He so wants to steal my thunder !!

It is true !! Everytime I demam, he will feel feverish too. If I have the flu, he will start sneezing in a matter of minutes. I can’t even have my monthly menses without his participation. Everytime I am about to get my monthly flow, he will get a zit first, as if to announce that I will be needing sanitary pads soon. I hardly ever need to calculate my due time. I just go by the condition of his skin.

“Ooppss… there you go, a big zit on your nose, hubby. I’ll go buy my Kotex now….” His skin could even detect when my flow is irregular. Once he sported a spot 2 weeks after my period. “Are you spotting for your girlfriend husband dearest, as I just had mine.” We had a monstrous row with him protesting and me accusing. And then, 2 – 3 days after that I was menstruating. He he… sorry…..

Anyway, maybe because we are already old. The bones are creaking and the muscles are groaning due to Father Time. Dah, nanti I beli Panadol for body ache to ye...

Discussion of Dialects

My colleagues and I had a very lively and fun discussion today on dialects and telor.....

It all came about when I asked Su who hailed from Terengganu if our new Agong speaks Terengganu-ish at all.

" Beta hukum mung kerak kepala.... "

Ye ke ? Or maybe Sultan Kedah will say

" Beta tak bagi hampa pi KL la ni. Hampa dok diam-diam tang ni. Besok lusa baru hampa pi... na.." He he....

I went to have breakfast with my boss yesterday. I was still busy choosing food when my boss said something to the lady at the cash register. When I went to join him, this lady addressed me but I couldn't understand a word she said. I went "huh ?" and leaned closer. Pekak ke aku ?

She repeated and for some reason I couldn't decipher what she said. Orang mana ni ? I looked inquisitively at my boss and he asked me what was my beverage of choice. Laa... tanya nak minum apa ke ?

For some reason I got annoyed. I know the Malays are enriched with all the different and wonderful dialects, but it is understood that in the name of getting our messages loud and clear, we have to speak in a language that is understood by all. Speak in Bahasa Malaysia if the person whom you were talking to in your mother tongue, screwed her face in incomprehension. That is a clear message that she/he doesn't speak your dialect !!

I would not dream of speaking in Penang-ish ( ye ke ... he he ) to Su because she would definitely retaliate by answering in Terenganu-ish ( if she could actually get what I said ), which I found very foreign apart from the easy ones like mung or ikang or spoong ( ha ha ha ... jangan marah ).

My friends

Went to Manila last week and it was great. The people we met were helpful and friendly. The hotel room was marvelous and the food good. Well the food dekat hotel lah sebab halal food was non-existent.

As I entered the plane to go home, a very familiar face greeted me. I looked at him, my face screwed in recognition and he said, “ Macam kenal je..,” It was our friend Amir Hamzah. He has been a steward for about 3 years and this is the first time of my traveling experience that a friend of mine was working on board the plane that I was on.

That was what I told Amir. He laughed and said it was my lucky day… He he… We exchanged numbers and hopefully will be in contact at least once a year.

I like collecting my friends. I like to turn acquaintances into friends and keep on a friendly basis with everyone. Sure I was not close to Amir at all during school time but I already know him and how can I un-know him ?

Friends are great. And I rely not on just my family in time of need, but I depend on my buddies too.

Take last week. Last Friday, my eyes hurt like there is no tomorrow. Called my husband and he was in Puchong with a client. Can’t abandon client just like that. So, whom did I call after Dan ? Good ol’ Shazmi. He said to wait for him as he was in a meeting and he will rush me to the hospital as soon as he can. After half an hour he regretfully told me that he would be stuck in the meeting for another hour.

As I was about to call Anu, Aik Peng ( a colleague ) came up to the surau area where I was and saw me sitting there with one hand covering my left eye. “Aiyoo, what is wrong Myra ?” When I explained, she abandoned everything she was doing and dragged me to the hospital without me asking for it. In the car I called Anu and when I arrived at Gleneagles, the doctor was waiting for me. Thank you Anu !! And thank you very, very much Peng. Really appreciate it.

Once I was scheduled to arrive in KL about 11 pm after a meeting in Kuala Terengganu. Dan too was out-stationed and whom did I call ? Shazmi. He went to catch a movie while waiting for me and at 10 pm when I arrived in KL, he was there to send me home.

Nice huh ? I can’t tell all the good deeds my buddies did for me, as they will be long and the work will be labourous, but you know who you are, my friends who have made my life easier and more manageable. I am truly blessed.

Thank you. ( Emotional lah pulak )

At the movies

I had a date with my husband yesterday. We went to watch Casino Royale. It was terrible because we sat 2 rows away from the screen. Had to change positions many, many times.

Anyway, as we were waiting for tickets, I heard a familiar baby's cries and lo and behold, there was the prop for Colic. I pointed it to Dan. My hubby smiled and looked away. Okay, so I thought he was unimpressed. Suddenly, he said, " I should've been there when Umar ran from that thing," I looked at him, very surprised indeed. He smiled and looked at me. " How terrified was him ? " I told him again ( plus a few exeggeration I am sure ) and he lapped it up like a hungry boy, coolly I might add... ( he.. he.. he was cool but I could see his eagerness ).

After paying for the tickets, I took him there to view the prop but it didn't make any sound. So I nudged it a bit and the cries racked the lobby. " Tang ni lah Umar lari, " I said. He smiled and looked away. Maybe he misses his son.

Dan has been working very hard. He works weekdays and some weekends, but since Raya, he has been working every weekends. It is quite okay if he only works 1 weekend day and rest on the other 1, but he has been working both weekend days for 3 weeks in a row. My poor baby.

That is why I have been actively taking my children out and about. At least the outside surrounding is helping me to make up for their daddy's big presence. At least their attention is diverted to many places and many things.

Last week Titi woke up when Dan had already left for work. She looked around and exclaimed, " Oh, Abah dah pegi work, ". Maybe she wanted her pre-requisite morning kisses.

I especially emphatise with my husband just before he needs to leave. He would look at us and then ask me what are my plans today. I have to make it as much fun as possible for them but I think it hurts him.

But he is usually home by 4 o'clock. He would rest awhile then we will go out. Usually after dinner we look for cds, something that all of us could watch. However it is hard to please the princess. After awhile she would go to her room, switch on her telly and watch Barbies or Pokemon.... Ada aje si kecik tu.

Hmm....

A leaf out of my ayah's book

Yesterday as usual, Umar and Titi had a fight. Titi cried and would not stop until a punishment is meted out to her brother. I whispered to Umar that " Mummy tipu je okay, " and said loudly for Titi's benefit that I will pok Umar for daring to fight with Princess Titi. Then, I added

" Mummy nanti pok Umar dengan rotan. Rotan tu I will cut ( lengthways ) 4 times so that everytime Mummy pok Umar ada 4 bekas. And then I will put paku and duri so that nanti berdarah Umar. Lepas tu I will perah air limau so that it will sting......, "

I could have gone on and on but stopped when I heard my son whisper , " Mummy tipu je kan ? Sure kan ? " He he... Yup I got that from my childhood, from my very descriptive father.... Although we would always laugh it out, it was a nervous laugh until we hear his own laughter or saw him stuck out his tongue.

One of his favourite method to scare us into goodness is when he talked about Titian Siratul Mustaqim,

" Akhirat nanti kita kena lalu satu titi ni. It is thinner than hair, in fact, it is hair cut into seven and they took 1 strand out of that 7 as a titi. Bawah tu, haa.... are horrors of all horrors. Snakes and kala jengking and api and hantu and jembalang. Everybody has to lalu this titi. If you are good, like me and Mummy, senang aje lalu. *Jeng je jeng ! Jeng je jeng ( in a sing songy voice, dancing ) nari - nari pun boleh, sure tak jatuh punya. Ha... tapi kalau orang jahat, *Jeng je jeng ! Jeng je jeng ( in a horror song, sometimes lagu darth vader ) Heee takut..., takut.... ( fingers in mouth, body shaking to show extreme fear ) jalan 2 -3 langkah bomm..... jatuh. You ( to the org yang bersalah ) I suggest you just jump straight into the hole ..... ".

Takut tau.... All of us had that imagined and it is rather scary. Everytime he narrated that, all the scenes will be played in our heads on cue. The fear, us trembling before the big fiery hole and looking enviously at Mummy and Ayah who were dancing on the hair to Jannah.

Believe it or not, that picture is always on my head whenever I am concious that I am up to no good. I would say it worked. Of course there are times ( numerous ) when I am doing something bad, and the picture reel is somehow missing on that movie or I was not concious that I was doing something terrible. However, the point is, thank you Bapak for managing to save me from half of my dosas......

My father is also the reason why I would look for my family members when it rained. Here is his story,

" Nanti ayah dah tua, Mummy dah tua... duduk rumah buruk. Hampa semua dah besaq, tapi tak mau ingat dah orang tua ni. Sombong. Duduklah ayah dengan Mummy kat pondok buruk tang mana ntah. Satu hari hujan... Keboom ! Kilat sambung menyambung. Angin dah tak sepoi - sepoi bahasa dah. Kencang... ooooooooo ( suara angin ). Hujan pun masuk sebab bumbung pun dah bocoq. Basah.... Mummy nak ambik makan. Ayah lapaq ( Us : Ayah memang selalu lapaq .... Ayah : Ish... dengaq lah dulu... ) tapi tak boleh jalan dah. Sebab lantai licin, cung... Mummy jatuh, pengsan. Ayah pulak dok lapaq, pun pengsan sebab sejuk pulak tu, basah lagi...... Bila orang jumpa, tak tau dah apa jadi..... Bila org bagitau hampa, ( he will stand up ) Biar padan muka org tua tu... Pegi aku tak kenal dia org.... "

Some will cry, others yg older ( like me and my brother ) dah selalu dengar, buat muka boring, tapi sebek kat dalam. That is why, bila hujan je, I have to call my family to ensure their driness and awakeness. That is why I find rain distressing as really, the picture my Daddy painted, is true to some very unfortunate parents in this world.

That is why, I relate the same stories ( with my own up-graded version of course ) to my kids, as it served as a good reminder to me on my duty towards my family and hopefully will serve as a reminder to them too.

And Dan asked me why I must make my children crazy ? Because it is family tradition, that is why !!

Wayang in Kuching

I just returned this morning from Kuching after 4 days there. I went with my boss En Azman on rounds of meetings and dinners. However we found 2 slots during the 4 days that were empty and so what did we do ? We watched Casino Royale and De-javu.

Both movies were excellent. I am in love with Daniel Craig. Though he doesn't carry the normal epitome of Bond's suaveness and debonair attitude but boy is he dishy. He has this part good and part bad boy look that I found totally appealing. They have chosen the right person to play the part of Bond when he was just given his 00 and on his first assignment.

De-javu was mind boggling. It was interesting and exciting and the suspence was just the right amount. It had me and En Azman talking and discussing about it for hours. Of course I had always been a big fan of Mr Washington and seeing him on the big screen gave me the funny sense of familiarity. Why ?

I recommend going to the movies when you are in Kuching. The cinema was not full eventhough it was cuti sekolah. There were only 6 people watching De-javu and to me it was a novelty. Although the cinema is not as canggih as our cineplexes here but I welcome the ability to buy tickets without queueing up 2 minutes before the movie starts. Free sitting, at that !!